Fsu's Gator Hunt Began In October

COLLEGE FOOTBALL - MICHAEL MAYO

December 2, 1996|MICHAEL MAYO Staff Writer

TALLAHASSEE - — Digesting Florida State's 24-21 win against Florida, along with the last bits of holiday bird. ...

-- Don't believe players and coaches when they say they never look ahead. Florida State coach Bobby Bowden admitted Sunday that the Seminoles began preparing for Florida on Oct. 13, the day after winning at Miami.

Bowden said he instructed coaches and players to work "overtime" the past seven weeks to get ready for the Gators. Film work began after the Miami game, and Bowden said the team twice spent an hour in practice working on the Gators' schemes and not the upcoming opponents'.

Bowden also gave the players their required weekly day off the Monday before the Nov. 23 Maryland game so that they could meet last Sunday to talk Gators.

Bowden said the Seminoles had 45 percent of their preparation done when the week began with a "very spirited" padless practice last Monday.

His rationale for the early jump? Florida had an open date before the game and thus had two weeks to prepare. "I didn't know if we could beat Florida when we didn't have an open date and they did," Bowden said.

-- A Florida State-Florida rematch in the Sugar Bowl is a possibility, although a remote one. If Nebraska loses to Texas in the Big 12 title game Saturday and Florida beats Alabama in the SEC championship game, the Gators would be the highest-ranked Bowl Alliance opponent.

That scenario is Bowden's worst nightmare.

"You don't ever like to play people you've already beaten," Bowden said. "The other team has automatic motivation. ... If we draw Florida, it would take all the fun out of it. I thought a bowl game is supposed to be some kind of reward for the season, but I guess when you're playing for a national championship you have to do what they say."

A rematch wouldn't be unprecedented. The teams met in the Sugar Bowl following a regular-season tie in 1994. Florida State won the rematch 23-17 after the 31-31 deadlock that felt like a Seminole victory. Florida led 31-3.

-- Was this Florida State or Kent State? Boneheaded call of the day belonged to Leon County sheriff's deputies, who decided to spray pepper gas in one end zone in a vain attempt to prevent fans from tearing down goal posts. Wind gusts blew the gas into Florida State players and reporters as they filed into the tunnel behind the north end zone. Linebacker Lamont Green and cornerback James Colzie vomited after inhaling the gas, and many experienced sneezing attacks, breathing problems and dizziness. Bowden proposed a wiser alternative: "If you tied one dog around the bottom of that pole, that's all you'd need."

Authorities were trying to save $200,000 worth of ABC camera equipment mounted on the goal posts, but they didn't have nearly enough manpower or resources to head off the estimated 10,000 fans who stampeded onto the field. The police did not use horses or dogs, staples of crowd control at major events. The crowd tore up the turf, including the entire Seminole insignia at midfield. Five fans were treated at a local hospital for injuries, three with broken bones.

-- The lower-ranked team has won eight of the past 12 matchups between No. 1 and No. 2. This was the 31st meeting between the two top-ranked teams in the AP Poll. No. 1 still holds a 18-11-2 edge.

Florida coach Steve Spurrier is 2-5-1 against Bowden. Bowden is 12-9-1 against Florida. Florida still leads the overall series 24-14-2, but Florida State is 7-1 when ranked in the top 5.

-- Bowden said: "I never got the feeling it was No. 1 vs. No. 2 out there. It was still Florida vs. Florida State. That was the overriding feeling."

I never got the feeling it was No. 1 vs. No. 2 because the quality of play wasn't all that stellar, and, at times, the game was just plain dull. The second quarter had 10 penalties for 110 yards. The third quarter featured nine punts and no points.

There were also too many unforced errors and missed tackles. Danny Wuerffel's first interception, into the end zone on the opening drive, came before he started getting hit; it was simply the result of a bad decision. FSU quarterback Thad Busby sometimes looks like he should be named Bad Thusby.

-- Will Florida State need a blowout win against Nebraska in the Sugar Bowl to win the national championship? If unbeaten Arizona State scores a decisive win over Ohio State in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, the pressure might be on the Seminoles to run it up the following night. Arizona State beat Nebraska 19-0 earlier this season.

But poll voters always seem to give the popular Bowden the benefit of the doubt. Victory, however small, would probably be good enough for his second national championship. His first came after a two-point win against Nebraska in the 1994 Orange Bowl after a 1993 season that featured a loss as No. 1 to No. 2 Notre Dame. Notre Dame lost the following week to Boston College. Even though both teams won bowl games and finished with one loss, FSU prevailed with the voters.